2013

VILLANOVA, Pa. -
Despite striking first for an early 1-0 lead, Villanova eventually faltered as Saint Joseph's edged the Wildcats by a score of 2-1 under the lights this evening at Villanova Stadium. The loss drops the Wildcats to 10-6 overall while remaining 3-3 in BIG EAST play, as the Hawks improve to 9-7 overall and 3-2 in the Atlantic 10.

After being kept scoreless for the past two games, Villanova came out hungry from the initial whistle. Senior Stephanie Campbell kicked off the scoring in the 11th minute of the contest as she fired a shot from the top of the circle after the Wildcats had forced an offensive penalty corner. Sophomore Emily Donaldson and junior Sam Coveleski assisted on the goal as the trio perfectly executed a standard straight shot corner play.

However, the 1-0 lead did not last long. Eleven minutes later, Saint Joseph's managed to capitalize on one of their two penalty corners for the first half. Current leading scorer Jen Wrublesky connected on a shot from the top of the circle to knot the score at one in the 22nd minute.

After both teams were unable to register another goal in the first half, the Wildcats and Hawks stepped back out onto the field ready for action. As frustration mounted, the game became more and more physical with both teams searching for the next goal. Villanova and Saint Joseph's traded shots and saves until the Hawks were awarded a penalty corner at the 42:26 mark. Saint Joseph's mirrored their first successful goal running the same exact play to jump ahead of Villanova 2-1. Wrublesky was awarded with the goal, while Katie Young and Theresa Barbati were credited with the assist.

Faced with a one-goal deficit, Villanova made every attempt to generate some sort of attack. The Wildcats fired off five shots in the second half, as well as collected five corners. But, in the end the Hawks' stubborn defense clogged the circle thwarting any and all attempts made by Villanova. The Wildcats even had an opportunity to tie the game and send it into overtime with no time remaining on the clock. However, Saint Joseph's defensive unit came up with a timely save to hand Villanova its third straight loss.

The Wildcats head out on the road this Friday, Oct. 26, to battle field hockey powerhouse No. 2 Maryland at 7:00 p.m. in College Park, Md.